McCormick Ranch Real Estate & Homes

8350 E. San Ramon Dr. shows as selling for $815,986 on December 27, 2007.

However, don’t use that sale when calculating comps. It wasn’t an open market sale.

The home was not listed in the MLS. The seller was James Williams and the buyer was Sandra Williams.

Eight homes were sold in McCormick Ranch December 15-20, 2007. The most expensive was a 2,736 square foot patio home in Sandpiper.

Sandpiper is a lovely green, guarded community surrounded by a green golf course. There is plenty of green space within the community, however, the HOA fees are high because of all of the lawn maintenance.

Still, it’s a wonderful community. Some of the homes need remodeling but others have already been beautifully remodeled.

This home at 7617 E. Tucson Rd hit the market on November 6 at $535,000 and went under contract on November 12 for $530,000.

Over 3,000 square feet in Country Horizons for a little over $500,000? Not bad… but it was a fixer upper.

The seller certainly didn’t lack ambition. The original list price was $699,000 on August 10, 2007. The price was reduced a few times until it reached $550,000 on October 2. It went under contract a month later and sold for $512,000.

I know it’s December and sales are slow but only 2 homes? Come on buyers. Get on the stick!

Well, the good thing about having only 2 sales in the week is that Colonia Encantada doesn’t have the most expensive home sale in McCormick Ranch once again.

This week’s winner is in Heritage Terrace, a subdivision with largish homes (average almost 2,700 square feet) just northwest of the corner of Hayden Rd and Via Linda.

The home, as you can tell from the photos below, needs some updating but the price was good and it sold quickly. [Note to New Owner: If you plan to remodel, please fill in the sunken living room. And that kitchen light - Wow!]

It was listed for $595,000 on October 26 and went under contract a month later on November 28 for $570,000.

This week, Colonia Encantada (AKA Cuernavaca Segunda) wins again… but at least it’s for the last time in 2007.

7500 E. McCormick Parkway Lot 42 sold for $1,055,000. It’s a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with 2,280 square feet and some remodeling.

It hit the market on October 24 and was under contract to a buyer on November 14.

Only 21 days on the market. Not bad. Not bad at all. The more well priced a home, the faster it sells and the closer to list price it will sell for.

Buyers feel an excitement about a home that’s been on the market for only 2 weeks that is long gone by the time the home has been on the market for 2, 4, 6 or 12 months.

The original list price was $1,075,000.

This home is the first repeat winner of the coveted Most Expensive McCormick Ranch Home Award! The home was featured in this post from June 28, 2007 where you can read all about it.

The home sold for $1,020,000 in June and then for $1,100,000 in November, 2007.

December is the slowest month of the year for Realtors and I like to take advantage of the slow time by investing in myself and my business.

In December 2006, for example, I took the classes needed to get my Real Estate Broker license. Now, I’m an Associate Broker.

This last December I became consumed with a project I had wanted to do for many years… and despite a few times when I wasn’t sure it I would be able to do it, I ended up being successful. I finished the project on New Year’s Day and love the results.

It’s a series of charts of homes sold, median sale price and median cost per square foot for most all the zip codes in Maricopa county. (Home sales on Indian communities are not public record and so those zip codes are not included.)

You can see the results for 85258 here.

There is nothing that explains the real estate market better or quicker than those 3 charts. I hope you agree.

Well, that special project took so much of my time that I had to drop some of my most enjoyable projects like talking about the most expensive home sold in McCormick Ranch.

So let’s see what we find.

Saguaro High School kicked a field goal with 6 seconds left to win 23-21 over Canyon Del Oro (Tucson) in an incredibly exciting game, where Saguaro had to convert two 4th down plays to keep their game winning field goal drive alive.

Be sure and check out the video in the upper right column in the Arizona Republic story. Especially, don’t miss the sportsmanship shown in the final frames.

7814 N. Via de Frontera is on the golf course in Santa Fe II.

It hit the market on January 30, 2007 at $758,000. The price was reduced on March 21 to $699,900 where it stayed all the way until it sold for $615,000 on November 15, 2007.

The seller could have sold it last spring and likely made more money by aggressively reducing the price last winter until he found the highest price at which it would sell.

It looks like it could use some significant updating.

It sure looks like McCormick Ranch was one of the greatest legacies of George Fretz.

The city’s first planning director who later became the planning guru for Scottsdale’s first master-planned community, McCormick Ranch, has left a legacy as one of the city’s most outstanding and productive visionaries.

George Fretz, who is credited with “having his finger on the pulse of the city” during the 1960s and 1970s, died Friday morning while on a hunting trip with his sons, David and Drew. He was 83.

“I knew George for 35 years,” said McCormick Ranch’s executive director Garth Saager. “He was an outdoorsman and had a cabin at Kenai, Alaska, where we fished for king salmon. We had a lot of fun up there.”

Saager considers the deceased a visionary in league with former Councilman Bill Walton and developer Bill Arthur.

“He was in charge of laying out (McCormick) Ranch when he was city planning director. Later he was hired by Kaiser-Aetna to lay out the subdivisions and the streets,” Saager said.

Arthur was chairman of Scottsdale’s Planning Commission when Fretz arrived in Scottsdale from Chula Vista, Calif., in 1963.

“George was really a great visionary. He had his finger on the pulse of the city,” Arthur said.

Scottsdale’s general plan, sign ordinance, subdivision designs, the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt, underground utilities and the city’s first master-planned community, McCormick Ranch, were all established during his tenure as planning director, Arthur said.

Bill Schrader, a former Scottsdale mayor, hired Fretz away from the city of Chula Vista.

“He knew nothing about Scottsdale,” Schrader said adding that when Fretz arrived, he liked what he saw and said “I’ll take the job.”

“George laid out the framework for what we have today. He served as our planner until 1970 and then he planned McCormick Ranch which is the most beautiful area in the city,” Schrader said.

“He made us a wonderful city with his vision and his eye to the future as well as the present,” offered historian Patricia Myers. “I live on McCormick Ranch and it’s a beautiful community with small villages within a community.”

Don Prior, an engineering design consultant and former city councilman, first met Fretz in 1971.

“He was a visionary and brought quality development from California and built the first master-planned community in Arizona. (McCormick Ranch) That helped to bring about all the other quality developments that we have today,” Prior said.

University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale

1:07 p.m. Saturday, December 9

CLASS 4A DIVISION I

Tucson Canyon del Oro vs. Scottsdale Saguaro

Directions

Saguaro High senior quarterback Tim Ruben has helped Saguaro win 17 straight games, a state championship, is on the verge of rushing for 2,000 yards to go with his 2,000 passing yards.

And now he can call himself the best in Arizona. At least as far as Gatorade is concerned.

Ruben, who has yet to commit to a major college, was chosen Friday as the Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona in football.

It’s an incredible rise for a kid who started his junior season as a parttime player, sharing quarterback duties.

Because of an injury to the other quarterback, Ruben became the fulltime guy and promptly led the Sabercats to the Class 4A Division I championship.

He came into Friday night’s state semifinal game against Scottsdale rival Chaparral needed 132 yards to reach 2,000 rushing yards. He has surpassed 2,000 passing yards.

Ruben is now eligible for national player of the year honors.